Plus Ultra
by SKOOLATOON
Summary: Sanae has a fluffy play date with Flandre. One-shot.


Remilia sipped from her tea.

She sat in her throne room, gazing ahead at the large double doors across from herself.

Sakuya stood at her side, hands meeting at her own waist.

"So…" Remilia was considering ideas. "In order to increase our political clout…"

"Ah." Sakuya was roused from her trance-like state, by her mistress's words. "Yes?"

"There's nothing that can be immediately done… regarding that shrine maiden, or the magician, is there?" Remilia lamented. "Heck. Kirisame makes a _play-session,_ a _hobby,_ of visiting us."

"Is that a bad thing?" Sakuya questioned her mistress. "Not to question any judgment of yours, of course. However… regarding this land's peacekeeper, and that magician. Overall, they mean well, and to oppose them would, no matter what, be a loss for us. I know they serve entertaining for you, as well as for this whole mansion, when they choose to stop by."

...Closing her eyes, Remilia nodded. "We learned this all the first time. Never again will we oppose them. That, and Marisa is, for all intents and purposes, entertaining, as well as a capable playmate for Flandre."

At that, Sakuya relaxed.

"However." Remilia opened her eyes. "We will be at their side. Their best friends. We will be the greatest resource of theirs, to lean on."

Sakuya blinked twice. "Mistress?"

Glancing down at her scarlet tea, Remilia swirled it about.

"In order to be the greatest resource, to them…" She let out a breath, staring at how the dim room's candle lights shined off the surface of the cup's liquid. "We must be one of few— if not the only— resource. Do you follow my thinking, Sakuya?"

Sakuya didn't. "I could use, perhaps, a few more clues."

Silence. Remilia considered how to break down her own thinking.

She'd reversed the process that Sakuya had instated; if Reimu was becoming relevant to the mansion, it didn't seem like a bad idea to make the mansion relevant to her too.

In order for the mansion to be the most relevant to Gensokyo's central powerhouses, it'd make sense for it to be the key integral social habitat for those two girls. But it wasn't as if Remilia could _force_ them to be here. That would defeat the point.

Gensokyo was limited in scope. This made recon easy, and it made it easy to see what may draw specifically Reimu's attention. Wherever Reimu was interested, Marisa typically followed.

There were a few key factions that came to mind. Remilia considered them; Eientei, the new Moriya Shrine, Hakugyokurou…

By process of elimination, two of those were very intimidating choices to tackle. To Remilia, it'd be like being asked to attack her own mansion, but everything about it— including its denizens— were randomized.

In this vein, she decided elaborating to Sakuya wasn't necessary.

"In related news, my dear sister could use more friends." Remilia leered at the door ahead. "...Sakuya. Tell me what you know of the Moriya Shrine. And… Sanae Kochiya."

Everything clicked for Sakuya.

**Plus Ultra**

_Shoof._ The door to the Moriya Shrine slid open.

"Oh?" Sanae smiled pleasantly. "You're, um, Sakuya, right?"

"Pleased to meet you." Sakuya Izayoi bowed, standing on the shrine's front porch. "How is your new life, here in Gensokyo?"

"Gh— good." Sanae stumbled on her words, slightly. "Thanks. Um…"

...At her hesitation, Sakuya moved things along for her. "May I come in?"

"Oh, sure!"

The inside of the Moriya Shrine common room was slightly smaller than Reimu's common room, Sakuya noted. At the same time, the shrine overall was more developed, featuring more rooms in total.

"You're quite timid." Sakuya immediately made her own observation skills evident. "Why is that?"

...Rounding the kotatsu in the center of the room, Sanae smiled oddly. "Uu— um, no real reason. It's just—... you know, I'm kinda new here, and not really settled yet."

The latest incident had just come to an end. Reimu and Marisa had stormed the mountain, and cleaved their way through everything in their path. After all, to Reimu and Marisa, this place bordered on being their backyard.

How the incident left Sanae was clear. She looked awkward.

Stepping up to the kotatsu, opposite the side Sanae picked, Sakuya read her more timid disposition.

"You're afraid." Sakuya nodded once. "That's understandable."

"What..." Sanae stepped back, instead of sitting down under the kotatsu. "Awfully quick to say _that._ But... you're not _wrong._"

"I'm not?" Sakuya smiled, despite her statement seeming surprised. "Well, you won't have to worry, with me. I'm not so judgmental."

She was sharp. Sanae felt like she was stumbling down a conveyor belt, when comparing herself to Sakuya here. "...Ee— is that so."

"Mmm." Sakuya nodded. "Are you busy? I came to give you a proposition. As you are a new resident of Gensokyo… and, a quite eager, reliable looking young shrine maiden."

"...You're— not just saying stuff to butter me up, are you?" Sanae was suspect of this. "I'm used to fake compliments, by now. I really, really don't like liars, or fakes."

Sakuya snorted. "Then, are _you _unreliable? Untrustworthy, maybe?"

"So be it." Sanae doubled down. "Until I prove myself… for— for real. Please, don't lie to me."

...A wind blew through the closed shrine. Sanae smiled.

Sakuya now looked less comfortable. "...Sorry. I'd figured you greener than that. Truthfully, I wouldn't trust you with gathering mushrooms. God— or gods— forbid what I plan to request of you."

Becoming neutral, Sanae searched nearby walls, before focusing on her again. "...I guess I'll listen."

"My mistress wishes to have you... _babysit,_ the young mistress." Sakuya voiced the request. "We will not see you unrewarded, if you wish. My mistress prefered to call it a 'playdate', because in truth, the young mistress could use more… socialization, and friends."

This was something that spoke to Sanae. "...Fr— friends, huh?"

And, Sanae thought on it. '_I used to be so lonely, and so down, too. It'd be really cruel of me to forget my roots. And_—_ if she's like me, we could be really good friends!'_

She could imagine it now; fun, playful adventures with a quirky western lady of a mansion. Sanae'd never even dreamed of such an anime-sounding scenario before, but now the idea was sharp in her mind.

"I take it, especially _now,_ that you could use more friends." Sakuya smiled, parts smug, parts cozy. "Not to be so rude, as I have been."

"You're right." Sanae smiled back, more confident now. "Ever since I came to Gensokyo… I decided... that I'd be more daring. More daring than ever. I— I'm gonna acce— nnh—"

She meant to say, 'I'm gonna accept', but that's when the wind interjected.

"It was quite a sentiment, too." Kanako Yasaka sat on the kotatsu's right, now. "On the outside, she was so meek. So humble. It took the sacrifices of a kind human to show her how to be a person; an act not even us gods could perform, for we are no humans, by any means."

Left unsaid was how weak the gods were; how powerless they were to change anything, in their state. This all changed quickly. As Kanako told Sanae, 'this land is one of gold in a sea of pewter'.

Suwako Moriya was on the kotatsu's left, looking cozy under it. "Mm~h. I'd like ta say I was real influential… but, without someone there ta back me up— ta back _us _up— there was only so much rootin' from the sidelines I could do."

Sakuya stared down at the gods in vague surprise, suddenly taken out of her comfort zone by their appearances. "...Aa— ah. You two."

In truth, Sakuya wasn't sure what to expect, when she'd learned this shrine had two gods. She'd expected something more like the Hakurei Shrine, where the gods may as well have not existed.

To see them here— and to feel their magical signatures— changed things.

Still, gods would be gods, she believed. Not that she knew exactly what a _god_ would act like, but she had ideas. "I'm sure neither of you would mind sparing this maiden, for an evening."

Kanako's arms were folded, and she raised a brow, almost looking lazy. "Mmm. Perhaps not. But, I must ask your intentions."

"...My intentions?" Sakuya knew they were onto her, but she didn't really respect the idea of a god to begin with. "My mistress simply wants the best for her little sister. And, who could be more pure for the job, than a shrine maiden? This is a valuable opportunity, one that would seem, at the least, _irrational_ to pass up."

"If you say so." Kanako didn't exactly appreciate any of that.

"You two are the gods of this shrine?" Sakuya decided to confirm.

"We're the gods of this shrine, yes." Kanako met Sakuya's gaze. "We have watched Sanae rise from the mess she used to be, into the cheery girl you see here today. She was only burdened by the dishonesty of humans. You wouldn't misplace the limited trust she's put in you already, would you?"

Sakuya swallowed. "...Nn— no... ma'm?" She wasn't sure how to address a Shinto god, if she were honest.

Sanae blushed a little, but…

'_Thank you.'_ She could count on the gods, now. She was in Gensokyo, and no longer were they bound to the limits of her psyche. They were real, after all; and if they weren't before, they were real now. '_Thank you! I'm not alone, anymore!'_

This Sakuya was different, too. She wasn't the blunt and honest Reimu, or the ball of happy chaos that Marisa was.

She was shrewd, sharp like a silver knife, and reserved.

'_She's so much like the outside. After all that talk I got about adjusting to Gensokyo… who is this?'_

"We'll hold you to that." Kanako smiled, nodding at Sakuya. "After all… you wouldn't lie to a god, I'm sure. No human is so foolish, or so weak."

Suwako sat up, beaming playfully. "Ooh? After what we saw Sanae go through, ya have the _nerve_ ta say _that?"_ She spoke of life on the outside, of course.

Kanako rolled her eyes. "Well, _yes._ We have to think as a _unit, _you know. I said that for effect. Someone from an illustrious mansion would, in _theory,_ put way more merit into my nuances than some street thug."

"But…" Suwako looked up at Sakuya. "At the end of the day, the action ya take if they screw up's the same, right? Ya whunk 'em in the face!"

Sighing, Kanako lied back, onto the floor. "That's supposed to go _unsaid,_ you idiot."

...Suwako opened her side of the kotatsu, and looked down, taking in Kanako's legs beneath it. "I dunno~."

Idly, Sanae searched Sakuya's face, as she watched the two gods behaving as they normally would.

"Well." Sakuya tried to get things moving, again. "Threats of bodily violence aside, you all seem quite pleasant. Kochiya..."

"Call me Sanae." Sanae's smile was warm. "And, you know what? I accept."

'_I wanna get to the bottom of this babysitting thing.'_

...Sakuya almost slouched in relief, but convinced herself not to. "Very well. Don't wait for night, come at sundown. The mistress would like to meet you, too."

Sanae gave her a big nod. "Sure thing!"

With that, Sakuya hurried outside.

...Kanako snorted, from the floor. "She was in an awful hurry. Didn't even sit down, or take off her heels."

"Yeah, I 'unno." Suwako sank back into the kotatsu top, no longer taking in Kanako's long legs. "Unh. Mmh… she coulda just been really socially awkward. Like, aside from the actual veiled jabs an' things."

"She's a westerner." Kanako waved it off. "They get over such things. Besides… you shouldn't send what you cannot receive."

"That's a superficial way a' lookin' at it, Kanako~." Suwako chided her. "Maybe she was havin' an off day."

Kanako shut her eyes. "Like _you_ can read people like I can."

"Like you can be as casual 'bout things as I can. Miss _business god._"

"Lazy stone."

"Lazy wind."

Sanae ignored their back-and-forth. '_She was kinda weirdly mean about things, but I don't really care about that. I really wanna meet this 'young mistress' she was talking about…'_

"Yer legs are long." Suwako mentioned, suddenly.

"Where'd that come from." Kanako let her brows raise… "Was—... that a compliment, or an insult?"

"Oh, you _know_ tha' answer ta that one."

Kanako sat up. "We should probably be gathering followers, and not flirting."

"Correction!" Suwako sprang away from the kotatsu, and into standing. "We're gonna keep an eye on Sanae while she does her thing, and _you're_ gonna look fer followers, and I'm gonna go make a new pond in the backyard!"

"...Good ideas, _except for that last one."_ Kanako grinned at her. "Why do you get to sit here and dig a hole? Be useful."

"Sanae's gonna want a nice pond to cool off in!" Suwako justified. "It's almost summer, girl! I know I'd have wanted some clean pools around, my earliest summers!"

Sanae moved for their kitchen. "...I'm gonna get a drink, and then get going, I think."

"Ah…" The gods watched her move, attention suddenly drawn to her.

'_Thank you so much, everyone.'_ Sanae felt at peace. Gensokyo put her at peace. '_Yasaka, Moriya… him. I'm finally home.'_

Through a window in the kitchen, she stared out into a late-day world, cast in setting sun, and blue horizon.

The hectic, stressful life of just getting by under the careful eye of human society was gone. Sanae had the freedom to do whatever she wanted now.

In the kitchen, she floated into the air, beholding the room beneath herself. But to her, it was like she'd left the ground and entered the atmosphere.

What the outside had meant to her had reached its conclusion. It was history, now.

'_I wanna get to know Reimu and Marisa better. That Sakuya person I just talked with… even if she's kinda shrewd, I don't see how she can hurt me right now. The gods are with me, and the previous world might as well be gone, too. I'm free._

_I'm free!'_

**Plus Ultra**

Sanae stood at the gate of the Scarlet Devil Mansion. She could feel the gods watching over her.

Setting sun cast the mansion in the blue glow of the horizon, with gold-amber light shining down on the scarlet front.

"Wow…" She marveled at the scope, just from the gates. "So _big."_

'_So this is a western mansion…'_

Everything felt so simple and different, now. Sanae felt giddy, staring at the structure.

At the gate, there was a woman with long, red hair, clad in a green outfit. She gazed plainly at Sanae, as she stood just before the gates…

...Sanae looked at her again. "Oh. You're awake, after all."

"Yer, that uh…" Meiling scratched the side of her own neck. "Kochiya girl, yeah? Sakuya told me ta look out fer ya."

"Aa— aah, yeah." Sanae nodded. "That's me."

'_The weather fills me with such-... comfiness.'_ The blue light all around the land reminded her of summer. It reminded her intensely of summer, in fact. '_I almost wanna just lie in some grass, somewhere.'_

"C'mon in." Meiling moved to push open the gate. "All aboard, and stuff."

_Crea~k._ The gate squeaked, careening well open from a simple push.

...Sanae smiled at her. "Thank you. What's your name?"

Meiling blinked at her. "...Hong Meiling. Yourself?"

"Sanae." She smiled wider. "Are you the only gate guard, here?" It was sort of a stupid question, but Sanae figured it'd lead into more information. After all, often a wrong assumption will make the other party correct the assumption, rather than keep the information secret.

But, Meiling's answer was surprising. "Yeah."

...Sanae blinked, at that. "Aa— ah. Really?"

"Yeah."

"...What do you do to pass the time? If you're always working?"

Smiling, Meiling met her gaze again. "Well… sometimes I do the gardening, which I consider part a' my job, but also a hobby. Sometimes I— play with the young mistress, yeah. Figure it's safe to tell you that. And, I uh… read manga sometimes, too. By which I mean— books."

Sanae was surprised again. "...You— read manga? What kind?"

...Meiling dropped her folded arms. "Aah. Well, recently I've been reading this 'Magister Magi Negi' thing…"

"Ooh!" Sanae beamed. "That's a long-running series! And, pretty unique, too…"

Completely taken off-guard by Sanae's enthusiasm and knowledge, Meiling began to smile wider, too. "Right? I mean… I wasn't sure what I'd expected. We ran outta good martial arts-type ones— which are what I mostly care about— but this series is pretty alright. I mean, a little more magic focused than I'd _like,_ but 'magi' was on the _title,_ so I kinda gotta give it a pass. It even has a few things about martial arts, here or there."

"Martial arts manga, huh…" Sanae wasn't sure if she could relate to that, exactly. "I like big robots, myself! But comedies and long stuff is good, too."

Now that she thought about it, the sheer escapism was saccharine to her. Now she'd have to get more defined interests, since she'd basically achieved the escape from reality.

'_...This is, in and of itself, a miracle.'_ Sanae stared at her own, open hand. '_W_—_... wow.'_

"Anyway." Meiling gestured to the open gate. "Sakuya'll get mad at me, if I hold ya up for too long. But, I'd like ta talk manga with ya again, some time! An' I'll try ta remember yer name, too! _Sanae…_"

"Yeah!" Sanae beamed at her. "Me too!"

'_This is already pretty promising!'_

Walking through the black-red gates, Sanae took in the huge, scarlet manorside with her gaze again.

'_...Now. Let's talk with that Sakuya lady, again.'_

**Plus Ultra**

The inside of the manor was comfortable, dim and lonely.

A large staircase sat straight ahead. To the room's left and right, there were vases and couches placed, symmetrical with one another.

Under the candlelight from the chandelier above, Sanae turned left, not entirely sure where to go.

She saw fairy maids at work.

There was a short, brown-haired maid. "C'mon… Yellow-chan— gimme the bucket back…"

"No. Buck, et." A yellow-haired fairy maid was flailing a tin— or perhaps iron— bucket around. _"Bucket!"_

'_...They're pretty lively.'_ Sanae smiled, moving up to try and talk to them. '_Maybe one of them knows where to find Sakuya-'_

_Pi- Pi~chun._ That's when both fairies died.

"Wh—..." Sanae jumped at the explosion of energy and noise made by their deaths.

Silver knives marked the floor under where they used to be, and near them, the metal bucket thumped on the scarlet carpet.

"Good evening." Sakuya stood behind her, now. "Koch—... Sanae."

"...You remembered." Smiling, Sanae faced her. "Good evening, Sakuya!"

"The mistress awaits us." Sakuya gave her an icy smile back. "Come." She trotted forward, leading ahead.

The halls were alive with color, which Sanae personally found appealing. '_So red…' _The walls were a dim maroon, the ceiling a faded pink, sometimes seeming beige compared to the other colors, and the carpet a vibrant red.

Portraits hung next to dim candle lights, neatly arranged down the halls.

Ahead, the halls seemed to deviate sporadically, fourway and threeway intersections sporadically dotting the distance.

When they could make a right turn, they did. '_I should say something. Sakuya doesn't seem to be talking…'_

"So, um…" Sanae watched Sakuya's fluent posture, as she walked. "What do you do for fun, Sakuya?"

"I serve the mansion." Sakuya wasn't in the mood to confess anything, however.

...Sanae pouted playfully. "Aw, come on. That's too broad. Even if you spend tons of time working, surely you have _some_ hobbies."

"...And what would it matter, to you?" Sakuya kept moving rigidly, but smoothly. It was a very well-practiced walk.

"Well… I just wanna get to know you better, kinda." Sanae confessed. "I want to make friends, in my new days here."

Sakuya snorted. "You're not here to make friends with me. You're not here to make friends with the staff, or unrelated denizens of the manor otherwise. Save your energy."

...Sanae let her gaze fall as she walked.

'_All this stuff they have… and, how nice it smells, and how nicely it's all presented…'_

"You said I was afraid." Sanae remembered, from a few hours ago. "And, I am. I'm terrified, that Gensokyo will leave me just as hated and helpless as I used to be. But… aren't you afraid, too?"

Sakuya didn't so much as vaguely try to face her. "Of?"

"Socializing. People… what _stuff_ might mean to things you care about." Sanae listed some examples. "The future."

"I have not been afraid in a very long time."

That was all Sakuya said. At first, Sanae felt like it was a shallow brag, but when she compared it to what she listed…

"Not even the future?" Sanae was most concerned about this one.

"The future is in my command." Sakuya declared. "Five hundred years from now, most things will be similar, if not the same as today. Those who I place my care in, shall largely be the same. Even in the face of the uncertainty of time, the past few hundred years have only evolved in either a positive direction, or not at all. This only makes sense, when looked at beneath the wing of our mistress."

Sakuya spoke of people Sanae didn't know. "Five hundred years from now, lady Patchouli will still be furthering her personal research. Meiling will be guarding the gate, I will be at work, mistress Remilia will be leading us, and the little mistress will continue to be lonely. Such is fate."

Sanae felt something was off. "...The little mistress, will continue to be lonely?"

...Sakuya said nothing more.

"Isn't that why you brought me here?" Sanae continued. "What's her name?"

"I've run my mouth." Sakuya admitted. "I've allowed you this, and nothing more. The mistress will tell you, if you deserve to hear."

'_...Sakuya sure is a weird one. Not that it's my place to call out lone wolf-type people… but…_ _I don't know. It doesn't feel human, how she acts.'_

After numerous turns, down the seemingly infinite, sprawling gridlock of fancy halls, they were at a set of double doors.

"Are you ready to meet the mistress?" Sakuya stopped here, facing Sanae for the first time in awhile. "There is no going back. So, if you have anything you would like to do first… leave. You may come back another day, if you do not feel confident."

'_...What is this? It's like the—... the warning you get, before visiting a final boss.'_

"Ye— yeah." Sanae nodded. "I'm ready."

Sakuya immediately turned to the double doors, and pushed them open.

They were bigger than Sanae first thought, when she watched them swing open. They creaked loudly.

The room inside was huge, the black-white tiled floor leading up to a large, healthy throne. A small, rich wood table sat next to it, holding a single scarlet tea cup.

Columns stood to the left and right, big and white.

Remilia Scarlet sat upon the throne in the midst, her right arm propping herself up by her right cheek.

"There you two are." Remilia's soft smile traced the two. "No wasted time as usual, I see. You are phenomenal, Sakuya."

"It is my pleasure." Sakuya bowed. "Mistress."

"...Kochiya." Remilia raised her left arm, and beckoned her closer with a finger. "Don't simply stand outside and gawk. Come in. We have much to discuss."

So, Sanae did. "Aa— alright."

Her sandals clicked against the shiny tiles. Behind her, the double doors shut loudly, and when she looked, Sakuya was gone.

"First… I'd like to say that it is an honor." Remilia's voice made Sanae turn back towards her. "Sanae Kochiya, was it? You're the new shrine maiden, upon Youkai Mountain. I must say, it's an interesting choice of locale."

"Yeah…" Sanae figured she'd hear that a lot. "But— uhm, I think it's fitting."

"...I suppose so."

Remilia unfolded her legs. "Sakuya. A chair for her. I shan't leave my guest standing there so simply."

_thunk._ A chair appeared, a couple meters across from Remilia.

'_How'd that get there?'_ Sanae smiled down at the chair.

"Please, sit." Remilia gestured her left hand forward.

Staring into Remilia's red eyes, Sanae felt a strange energy from them. '_She's…'_

As Sanae sat on the plain and off-color wooden chair, she blinked. She knew the manor had better looking plain chairs; she'd seen them in the halls. This must have been deliberately picked to look slightly worse than any other generic chair.

Remilia sipped from her tea. "I expect you know why you're here?"

"To— babysit, your little sister?" Sanae stringed together that much. "And, be a friend for her?"

Leaning back, Remilia found a peaceful smile. "Yes. Precisely."

The way she smiled revealed her fangs. '_Vampire! That's what this whole place is_— _it's like a vampire's mansion!'_

At the moment, Remilia's wings weren't out, but her eyes were a luminescent red. "...On this note, I wonder about… your skills, with people. Have you met anyone of this land, yet?"

Sanae was sort of disarmed by her words. To be asked about simple job qualifications felt oddly mundane, but also comforting. "Uuh. I um, met two girls, on the mountain, and some youkai—"

"Reimu and Marisa, no?" Remilia already knew some details. "How do you feel about them?" An unrelated question, but one she suspected Sanae wouldn't pick up on.

"...I- I think we can be friends." It went better than expected; Sanae considered it a relevant question, as it tested her judgment of character. "I wanna be friends with them. Sakuya, too."

Remilia smiled at that, doing her best to look genuine. "Oh? Well, I'm afraid she doesn't _do_ friends, Kochiya."

"She—" Sanae blinked, "doesn't _do_ friends?"

"I'm sorry. She doesn't." Remilia's response was simple. "Her life is already full. I'm afraid you were simply too late."

"Wh— what do you mean, _full?"_ Sanae felt that was really weird. "Is that how it works, in the west?"

"Sure."

'_What an annoying response._' Sanae's expression became vague. '_I'm reminded of those_—_… I'm reminded of school.'_

"If you're gonna—" Sanae was making an assumption here, she knew. No backing down, now. "If you're gonna say you don't like me— please… be honest about it."

Remilia frowned. "So you suppose dishonesty, of me? What _ever_ could I have done to evoke your suspicion? How utterly _rude._"

Sanae cringed. "Sor— sorry. It's just—"

"Be quiet." Remilia raised her voice, just slightly. "I cannot fathom from where you even _assumed_ I did not like you. But, if you continue making assumptions, then yes, I will not like you. Do not try my patience, _maiden of faith._ The fact I've welcomed you in my home should honor you."

"...Ye— yes." Sanae wanted to leave. "Sorry."

"I did not give you permission to speak." Remilia's face hardened further. "Speak only when I tell you to."

Sanae almost had the urge to apologize again, but…

'_Is this how she always treats guests? Yeesh.'_ Her own thoughts eased her discomfort.

Remilia felt Sanae calm down. Regardless, it wouldn't do any good to tease her any further. "...Very good. Now… my sister is named _Flandre Scarlet._"

Folding her legs again, Remilia continued. "She's… a rather oddball. Very, very weird, and at times misunderstood. It's truly unfortunate."

'_With you around, I dunno.'_ Sanae felt like Remilia probably contributed to any sort of problem there might be. '_Maniac.'_

"Which is where you come in." Remilia smiled at Sanae, but it felt fake. "You are to be her new friend. Quite glamorous, yes?"

Since she'd technically asked a question, Sanae dared to speak. "Uu— um, do I—"

"Shut, _up."_ Remilia smiled wider, and it felt more real. "Make like a doll, for me."

'_...Do I keep quiet for_— _this Flandre girl's sake, or…?'_

"Regardless. As she too is a vampire, I recommend not feeding her yourself." Remilia recommended. "She is a ferocious eater, and a messy one, at that. Otherwise… you may do whatever. However."

Holding up a finger on her left hand, Remilia's gaze narrowed. "She is to _never_ leave the basement. Never. You hear me? Repeat after me. She, is, to, never, leave, the, basement. You try."

"Sh— she is to never le— leave the basement." Sanae stumbled out her response.

"Say it _clearly,_ with _feeling."_ Remilia stood up. "Yell it, if you have to!"

"_She is to never leave the basement!"_ Sanae yelled back.

Remilia pursed her lips. "Oh my, how cruel. Well… I do suppose they are _your_ words, and not mine. Babysitter knows _best._"

'_...What an asshole.'_ Sanae felt tired. '_I'm supposed to like, exterminate youkai, right? Can I exterminate you?'_

"In truth…" Remilia felt the animosity, and became sated. "I do not keep her in the basement out of petty sadism, or… for any greedy reason. And I know myself as many things; feel free to bark obscenities in your head. But…"

Her eyes dimmed, and as she stalked around Sanae's form, their gazes stayed locked. "My sister is mentally ill. Forgive my childishness, but, I would appreciate it, if she had many friends."

Sanae blinked. She'd seen the real Remilia, all of a sudden.

Or, so she believed. Remilia saw the trust on Sanae's face, and felt her own chest rise in elation.

**Plus Ultra**

Sanae stepped out of the double doors, which again shut behind her.

Remilia slumped in the throne, holding onto her own forehead.

Sakuya was there, to reclaim the chair left behind, as well as to heed her mistress's guidance.

"You know…" Remilia was tired, all of a sudden. "It's been awhile, since I've sentenced someone to Flandre in vain."

"It has." Sakuya couldn't remember the last time it happened, despite her memory storing some variant occurrences. "I still remember my initial run-in, with the little mistress."

Sakuya was now expectantly staring at her, holding the chair idly, with no place to put it.

Remilia snorted. "Well, I had no intention of you perishing there. And— it's not like I wish solitude of Flandre. You know? I've simply long since accepted, that she is who she is, and… I am who I am. It's unfortunate, but you make the best of these sort of things."

"Understandable." Sakuya nodded along. "...I too am making an effort, here. That Kochiya, on the way here, she attempted quite hard to attach herself to me."

"She told me as much." Remilia flicked her gaze up. "Pftah. It will do us no good, thinking like that. This situation is perfect, even. She has yet to even become relevant to those two. Her death will go unnoticed."

"And what about her gods?" Sakuya fretted, mildly. "They do not seem to be the passive types."

That was a pressing point, but Remilia had already considered it. "I do not forsee them attacking us anytime soon. They may recognize our might, or simply not be aware. Especially when their little _lovechild_ there goes meandering somewhere particularly dark, in our mansion. Somewhere dark enough that their _light_ cannot reach. Or, so I assume. I know little of Shinto deities."

...With that thinking, Remilia leaned back, staring up. "Regardless… they… are of no interest to Reimu, as far as I'm aware. Potentially enemies of hers, even. Without Kochiya herself to bridge relations, we've nothing to worry about, I'm sure."

Ultimately, Flandre's existence as a controllable, personal pandora's box was ironically convenient for Remilia. So, in the end, Flandre serviced her mansion and her sister after all.

"Thank you, Flandre." Remilia stared at the floor. "For everything."

...Sakuya was gone, already. She knew her mistress's will.

Remilia sighed. This had gotten old. "Flandre. I damn minds. I damn the way the soul receives the mind, and I damn dreams."

Maybe it'd have been better if she'd killed Flandre, after all. But, it was too late to think of something so dismal. She'd committed to the challenge of keeping her beloved alive, and she's even found mild success, after these hundreds of years of turmoil, fuss, and loss of assets. She was Remilia Scarlet, and no one less could perform at the magnitude of effort she exuded.

And still, she felt so encumbered.

**Plus Ultra**

"My apologies." Sakuya appeared.

Sanae pushed at the orange-haired fairy. "Ge— get _offa me!"_

The short fairy buried her face in Sanae's chest. "Nn- _no!_ Aah— shrine maiden _boobies_—"

_Pi~chun!_ The short-stack fairy maid died instantly, after Sakuya slid her knife where the fairy's throat was. "I seem to have kept you waiting."

...Sanae groped herself, to re-adjust her boobs inside her outfit. "I— was wonderin' when you'd show up. I've just been walking around without a direction..."

"I apologize again." Sakuya moved. "The little mistress is this way."

They began to walk along the huge halls again. It was abrupt, and Sanae smiled awkwardly as she jogged to catch up.

'_I wonder if Sakuya ever gets tired of walking. Because, geez… does the west hafta make everything so big? You need cars, just for these hallways!'_

"You should get little bumper cars, to ride around." Sanae made the smuggest face. "This place would be a lot easier— and funner— to get around!"

...Sakuya just gave Sanae the vaguest expression for a moment, before she kept moving without saying anything.

Sanae romped up to get next to her. "I— I'm serious! I bet the mistresses would like it, too!"

"Tha— that's a horrible idea." Sakuya forced displeasure. "And you are horrible."

"He- hehe!"

Sanae felt like she latched onto something now. '_Sakuya emoted a lot, to that! I just gotta keep sayin' knee-slappers!'_

"Did you ever tickle your mistress with a feather duster?" Sanae wanted to know. "Or, how about, a _wiffle duster?"_

...There was no reaction. '_Aw, dang it. Dropped the ball.'_

"Hey, Sakuya! Look!" Sanae beckoned for the maid's attention.

...Pausing, hesitantly, Sakuya turned.

"_Munan cho."_ Hunching down, Sanae began dancing, humping the air before herself, and making her breasts bounce wildly in the process. "Enh, enh, _enh!"_

...Sakuya just let her brows slowly raise, before turning back around.

"Pft- he- hoha!" Sanae made herself crack up. "Oop- oops! I— I wasn't— supposed ta make _myself_ laugh…!"

'_Damn, Sakuya's really good at this. She's got 'not being happy' down to an art…'_

Romping up to her again, Sanae held a finger out, as if to say something.

But, for awhile, she didn't.

...Soon, they'd reached some cellar doors, positioned in the midst of the infinite hallways.

Sakuya faced Sanae, and crossed her eyes to look at the finger Sanae'd snuck up to nose-level.

"Never bury your face in a fairy's vagina." Sanae wagged that finger, now. "Only villains do that."

"Wh—…" Sakuya grinned. "Goddamnit."

_Clap!_ Sanae beamed, smacking her palms together. "I— I made you _smile!_ Holy _shit!"_

"That combination—… of phrases." Sakuya was genuinely confused. "I— shouldn't be— letting you get to me…"

_Cla- clack._ The cellar door swung open. It was loud, clunky and noisy.

'_I count that as a win. Sakuya's probably a really cool person at heart.'_

With this, Sakuya began to march down into the cellar. "Follow me exactly. We cannot have you getting lost, down here."

Sanae marched down into the darkness, with her.

Instantly, the atmosphere was different.

'_What_— _is this_—_ feeling?_' She felt herself lose her breath.

On the stairway down, she couldn't see anything.

"Are you alright?" Sakuya asked plainly, as they descended.

"Ye— yeah…" After clutching her chest, where her own heart was, Sanae nodded. "Just— had a spontaneous heart attack, or something."

'_My body's telling me not to go down here.'_

Sakuya nodded. "You'll get over it. Come on."

They reached the bottom of the stairs. The only light down here emanated from Sakuya herself. Torches hung on the crapped-out stone walls, but the light seemed to get consumed by something.

They were at a four path intersection. Discounting the stairway back up, there were three paths.

Sakuya went left, first. "You can get lost in these halls, if you don't know the right way. Just follow me."

Someone whispered in Sanae's left ear, but she couldn't see who— or what— and when she looked, there was no one. "Wh— ah…"

"Ignore the voices." Sakuya spoke up, louder.

'_Why're there voices at all!?'_

Feeling sick, Sanae stepped lightly after Sakuya, as they ventured into the darkness.

'_My body's getting heavy_—... _my breath hurts… wait_— _how's breath hurt? I mean, it's getting harder to breathe...'_

Suddenly, as they were on the third turn, Sanae blindly following Sakuya, there was a rectangle of blue light to their right.

_Fwi- fwi- fwish._ Sakuya flicked her arms, and knives met the light. It flickered out.

Sanae felt her whole body relax, for a moment. "Wh— what—… what was _that?"_

"One of the young mistress's… old toys." Sakuya wasn't sure how to describe it. "We'd bought her a personal computer some time ago, you see. It was gone a few days later, but it never truly left. It now wanders the lower halls, in search of fairies."

'_What the fuck.'_ Sanae would've laughed, if she hadn't just seen that flickering blue light. '_That's almost funny_— _but also really terrifying! ...But, also funny!'_

"Come." Sakuya kept moving.

Soon, they were somewhere. Sanae wasn't sure how else to describe it.

A royal red door sat at the end of the hall ahead. Everything else was black. Only the door itself and Sakuya were lit. Sanae couldn't see her own hands.

...Sakuya gave Sanae one final look. "Here is her door. Knock. And…"

She sighed. "I'm sorry, Sanae Kochiya."

Sakuya was gone. Sanae was left in the dark.

A cacophony of buzzing noises filled Sanae's ears. '_Ow ow ow_—'

She ran ahead, to the lit door, as the darkness grabbed at her mind from behind.

This wasn't a basement. It was a void, of black, red and fallen stars, and it felt like her antithesis.

It was blacker than a school bathroom floor; blacker than one's head after blunt trauma, darker than unconsciousness, but also too bright. It hurt to look at anything that could be seen; the red lights, the door ahead…

'_I_— _shoulda practiced more, with Suwako and Kanako. But— I shouldn't need magic like that, just to look after— a sweet quirky girl...'_

Sanae pushed open the red door.

The darkness was gone. The room was full of dim light.

"Hh— haah…!" Sanae took a deep breath. She could breathe again. "Oo— oh, gods…"

The floor had a checkerboard, black-white pattern, reminding Sanae of the throne room.

Unlike the throne room, there was a bed in the center, and the overall scale of the room was more limited.

"Oh?"

Flandre Scarlet turned her head. She was standing on the bed, which looked perfectly made. "...Another shrine maiden? Oh, boy!"

"Aa— another?" Sanae wondered? "Still… I— I've been sent, to be your friend, Flandre Scarlet!" Sanae bowed.

"...My friend?" Flandre blinked.

...Sanae stood up straight. "Ye— yeah. I've been told, how lonely you are—"

"Thank you, sister!" Flandre beamed. "She's so _cute!"_

Sanae blinked. "...I— I'm not your sister, if that's—"

_Creak!_ Bouncing off the red-black, also checkerboard-styled bed, Flandre landed on the ground, and romped up to Sanae.

"Hey." Flandre skirted around Sanae, her arms folded behind her own back. "So. So, so, so. What's your na~me? New friend?"

"...Sa— Sanae. Kochiya." Sanae gave her a nod.

Flandre stopped before her. "Sanae Kochiya, huh? Sanae Kochiya-san-chan-kun-sama-san."

...Sanae smiled. "Eeh, eheh. Yeah, something like that."

"You smell nice." Flandre grabbed onto Sanae's arm, and tugged. "Like fresh flowers. You're so afraid."

"Sorry." Sanae apologized, for being afraid. "It's just— the walk here… was really scary."

"Really?" Flandre smirked in mild amusement. "You really are a cute dolly."

"Dolly?" Sanae smirked back. "I'm no dolly."

"Yeah, you are." Flandre assured her. "If you weren't a dolly, your arm wouldn't bend like this. See—"

_CRA- CRACK._ Flandre bent Sanae's arm back, snapping the elbow joint.

The pain was instant, unbelievable. "_Aa_—_ aaa~h!"_ Sanae roared, jaw open.

"Ehe— hehehe!" Flandre doubled back, giggling. "Okay, stop, stop!"

"_Aa_— gh, ghn…" Tears roared down Sanae's face, as she stood on her knees. "Mh— my arm— Fl— Flandre…"

"Your arm? Yeah, it snapped!" Flandre clapped her hands together. "Isn't it so dumb?"

"Du— _ngh_— dumb…?" Sanae rasped through the pain.

"Wouldn't it be just _retarded_— if I screwed your head off for no reason, and that was the end of that?" Flandre folded her arms, smiling down. "It would be, wouldn't it. Yeah, I oughta at least her your backstory first. Then, it'd be even _more_ stupid!"

'_...I_— _I made a big, big mistake._'

...Sniffing her snot in, Sanae stood. She held up her good arm, her gohei magically flashing into her hands. "He— heal."

_Di~ ding._ A floral crest of light surrounded Sanae's form. A blessing of the goddess Moriya; the power of healing, and bodily rejuvenation. Suwako figured she'd need it, against youkai who got a jump on her, or battles of attrition.

_Cra- crack._ Without pain, her broken arm snapped back into place.

Flandre stared almost dumbfounded, at the human who healed before herself.

'_...Gods.'_ Sanae beamed greedily at her fixed arm. '_This is awesome!'_ Admittedly, this is the first time she had to use it. '_I wish I coulda done this on the outside! Bullies would've been no problem!'_

"Wo~w." Flandre was admittedly impressed. "It's been a long time, since I've seen a human, who can _heal themselves._ We must be gettin' notoriety, or something. Are you a vampire hunter, by chance?"

Sanae shook her head. "Nn— not really. Also, you can't go around breaking people's arms."

"Who cares." Flandre sure didn't. "I wanted to see how you'd react. I get a lot of _boring_ toys who just die right after something like that."

"...I— I'm not just a _toy."_ Sanae furrowed her brows. "Why're you like this?"

"Ehe. No, yer a toy." Flandre smiled up at her, widely. "Sorry~."

She stepped forward. Sanae stepped back, wincing.

_BAM._ Flandre thrust her fist at Sanae. Her left arm met Sanae's ribcage.

"_Uhu_—" Sanae hit the wall behind herself. "_Unh…"_

"Entirely worthless." Flandre put things simply. "Your loved ones will weep for you, and stuff. I wonder what they'd say, if they saw your skull explode on the stone floor? How _broken_ would they be?"

"But—" Sanae's eyes were wide, and not exactly just in fear. "I've got so much to live for! People— who care about me, just like you! Doesn't your sister care about you?"

"Nah." Flandre snorted. "...Alright, that's not tru~e. She cares about me a lot. More than she _should,_ even, but also not enough. She's kinda stupid, sometimes."

"What if— someone just crushed _your_ skull?" Sanae grinned at her own logic. "How would _you_ feel, if someone did that to her?"

_Di- di~ng._ Healing magic coated Sanae's form as she spoke.

"Heheh." Flandre giggled it off. "It'd never happen to her, thou~gh. That's the _thing._ Power is everything! She's in _control._ The _Scarlet Devil Mansion_ is her dream. And— I'm not just talking physical power. Social power, mental power, magic power, physical power too…"

She spun around, and ended up closer to Sanae in the process. "All these things enable you to dream. But, _you?_ You're just… _lame._ You cry from snapped bones. You shudder, waiting for your next beatdown. You cry, because you can't protect what you love from all the stupidity around you."

"Wh—" Sanae wondered when this became about her, so fast.

_BAM- BOOM!_ Flandre punched the wall beside Sanae. The stone cracked, damage spiderwebbing across the whole of it. Sanae jumped, flinching from the force.

"All that love means nothing." Flandre's smile was huge. "All the pain, too. Because, in terms of cost— you are _nothing._ You're as cheap as the worms who feed off of you; and if they're worms, you're _soil._ Broken dreams are like dirt, and more are dead than you think."

Suddenly, Flandre was crying, despite her absolute smile. "So why not let your body become ash? Nothing is surely a sweeter release. All your resistance, all that effort—… such _wasted_ effort. You'd do better as ash, too. Meiling— could fertilize the flowers, from you, and at least something of value could flourish."

"That's to say— our perceptions of the beauty." Flandre clarified. "The flowers are practically soil too. Feels funny ta say that…"

"That's—" Sanae's jaw was slack. "That's no reason— to _give up!"_

Flandre blinked, as if inconvenienced.

"I— I'm sorry if something bad happened to you…" Sanae held a hand to her heart, gohei clutched close. "But—… I love my friends. My gods— are like the loving parents I never had. I don't use the word 'friend' as a throwaway word, either. My real friends, I love all of the few."

She blinked, and Flandre was in her face, making her jump.

"I'm sorry." Flandre apologized. "I don't care about that. Any of that. In fact… knowing you'll lose all of that, and they'll lose you, makes this even sweeter. It's of no loss to the world… _my _world. This is _my dream._ This is _my fantasy._ I'm_ in control_."

"No." Sanae suddenly glared back. "You're a puny little weakling who gets off on ruining good things. Less—… less dreams would be broken, if you— weren't a _little shit._"

...Flandre leaned back impossibly far. "He— _hahahaha~!"_

"_Big words!"_ Flandre's voice was shrill and pleased. "Big words, indeed! Not like your power can prove them right!"

Then, she was eye-to-eye with Sanae again. "And— what makes ya think what I do is even a drop in the bucket? I could fly around like a hero, stop crime at night, be _revered like a god,_ and even yet, nothing will change.

"Why sacrifice _my dreams,_ so others can dream? What _I have_—the knowledge and care I bring— all of which will be lost to time? Knowledge that none will hear, or listen to. Care which goes neglected and misplaced."

...Sanae frowned hard. "No. No, I think you'd—… you'd cause the change you could, and that would be good enough. Even if you can only hope, that they're good people… as long as you enjoy doing it. You'd meet friends. You'd—"

Flandre gripped Sanae's skull. "I enjoy crushing your skull. As long as I enjoy doing it, right?"

Sanae swallowed, looking between the slender, pale fingers. "This—… this is different. Yo— you— you're— you're taking—… you're taking someone who has something to live for, and ruining them."

"More entertaining than the _trash_ I usually ruin." Flandre pursed her lips, pouting adorably. "And, like, it's not like I _don't_ got somethin' to gain from this. Every soul, every drop of blood, every _pinch_ of power…"

Prisms were revealed amidst Flandre's eyes, and she beamed wickedly. "It's about time I got to be a villain, again."

"But— _why?"_ Sanae knew it wouldn't be this easy. "You cried, earlier. This can't just be about being contrarian."

Flandre snorted. "Big word, for yer age." Sanae felt like that was really ironic, somehow. "Anyway. I'm bored of you. Bye bye!"

Sanae dropped onto her butt. Flandre's grip had become awkward as she was speaking, allowing Sanae to slip right out.

Flandre clenched her fist, towards the wall.

_KABOOM!_ The wall exploded into a sea of amber.

"_Aaaa~h!"_ Sanae roared, the stone and fire smashing her into and past Flandre's legs.

When she got off the floor, everything around her was burning. '_Oh gods_—'

"Well." Flandre huffed, as Sanae raised amidst the hellfire inferno. "They who awoke me to dreams again… they levelled with my power. Let us see if yer worthy enough to stand before me."

"I don't want to _fight!"_ Sanae roared again, as she sprang into standing. "Flandre! I want to _help you!"_

Now around Flandre, there were crystal wings, rusty branches resembling twilight-cast tree limbs with phantasmal lights hanging off of them, in the place of leaves.

"Help me?" Flandre's glowing, piercing red eyes bored into Sanae. "You can help me by _feeding me your dreams._"

Sanae peeked down. The floor was glowing red.

_FWISHING- FWISHING!_ Red, impossibly intricate energy swords pierced from the floor.

Sanae twisted her body in just the right way. If she hadn't moved, she would've lost both her arms. '_Oh my gods…'_

"You may think it strange. You may think that I'm deranged. My sister calls me ill, and you call me _stupid._ The red-white, nice as she is… nnh. Only _Marisa_ understands me."

"I want pure power. Ultimate power." Flandre's red eyes became absolute. "It feels so _good._ To be beyond control— even my own. So that none can control my dreams."

_KABOOM- BOOM- BLAM- BOOM!_ Flandre swung her arm, and explosions beset the room.

Sanae was like a ragdoll amidst the churning, collapsing stone, and the darkness. "_Uhg-_— _au_—"

"Sister, alwa~ys told me… not to let it go. Not ta let power _consume_ me. Hehe— as if it was _infectious_, or like I'd _drown_ or something! What a stupid idea! Like _Flandre Scarlet_ would get devoured by such a stupid ending!"

_Shi- shi- shi- shing!_ Metal barbs spiked up, all around the room, but they were black. Sanae couldn't see them, and they were just a few notes up from being dead silent.

After crawling just a little, patches of cloth and skin were stripped from Sanae's flesh. "Aaa- _aaa_—"

"_Hey, kid!"_ That's when Sanae heard the gods. "_Holy shit!"_

"_I leave you alone for two seconds!" _Kanako's voice, too. From how it sounded, they were only talking to her. "_What the hell's going on here…!?"_

"_Ghuh."_ Blood poured from Sanae's mouth when she opened it. She was crushed between two huge, shattered stones, and her exposed flesh was being stripped away.

Reaching down, the gods crafted a halo of light above Sanae, and pushed it into her.

_FWO- FWOASH!_ _BOOM!_ Light energy exploded out from her body, and her skin and bones began to heal. "_Hu_—_ whuaa~!"_ She felt like she was puking light.

Rocks splashed away from her form, as she floated in the room's center. The holy light had revealed the ruined state of the cavern she was now trapped in; and she was trapped with a murderer.

"_Gods…"_ Flandre could see them, even if they didn't want to be seen. "Ooh… _gods!_ I have so many _questions!"_

"Yeah, buzz off!" Suwako shook her fist. "You tried to kill Sanae!"

"That's _our_ job." Kanako grinned down at Flandre. "We don't take kindly to monsters like you."

"Oh?" Flandre grinned. "But, am I not a god? With all this power… I could swallow all three of you whole. Everything you've done will be erased."

"Flandre…" Now that she could speak again, Sanae did. "We don't want to fight you."

Suwako jerked her own head back. "Wa— wait, we don't?"

"Flandre." Sanae reaffirmed herself. "...Tell me about your problem. We'll all do our best to listen!"

...Flandre shut her eyes, and giggled. "Ehe—… ehehee~. After I killed you… you still wanna just— talk it out? That might be why you're so weak."

"Killed me?" Sanae blinked.

Glaring down, Kanako shook her head. "You didn't kill her. You simply _nearly_ killed her. Which, unless you get on your knees and start praying, I'm not _oft_ one to forgive."

Flandre sighed. "...A god like you would not answer my prayers. You would not believe what goes on in my _head._ Why should I start praying?"

"_Flandre!"_ Sanae _really_ wanted to settle this without a violent dispute. "What's troubling you!?"

...Smiling plainly, she held a hand up, and clenched it before herself.

_KABOOM!_ Kanako's arm exploded. "_Aa_—"

Suwako summoned iron rings from the ground, which glided effortlessly and soundlessly into Flandre's form.

As they cut her whole body apart and into ribbons, Flandre giggled through the bloodbath. "_Ehe_— _ehehehe~!"_

"Nn— _no!"_ Sanae barked out in vain. "_Flandre!"_

"_Bego~ne!"_ As Kanako's left arm reformed, she pulled Sanae back with her good arm, and thrust the new one ahead.

_BOOM- KABOOM- BAM- BOOM!_ All the crushed rock nearby coalesced on Suwako and Flandre. Kanako intended to use the wind and stone to grind her into a fine powder.

But, in doing so, she discovered something.

Beneath Flandre's room, amidst the bedrock, cracked tiles and destruction, there was a creation.

Flandre effortlessly bashed her body through the rocks to reach it, ice and thunder pouring from her mouth in a stream of scarlet energy.

Suwako staggered back from the rubble nova Kanako had made, her iron rings caked with electric volts. "What— the hell—"

_Fwish!_ Kanako's winds were influenced by the icy gale from Flandre just enough to not press her into the giant boulder being made.

That's when Flandre reached her creation.

It was a mass of flesh, broken human parts and blood. A lot of it was far past decayed, all of it brown, and all of the fluids running from it black, brown or some sort of vague oily color.

It had a face, with teeth, and two eyes that lit up when held by Flandre.

"_This…"_ Flandre spoke through it, as she raised it from the earth. "_This is my new life. This is my first creation_— _as a new god!"_

Sanae knew what it all was, after looking closely enough, and seeing the fragments of hair, clothing and other objects.

This was made from her human visitors. Not just humans; the elemental energy pulsing off of it implied youkai and spirits were part of it, too.

All the elements pulsed inside; even holy energy.

Essentially, it was a huge, misshapen head the size of a house. '_What… the actual fuck.'_ Sanae had her mouth agape.

Then, the scent — the _air_ met her. She wanted to heave. "_Ooh_—…"

"_Centuries of life…"_ Flandre spoke, through her abomination. _"My dreams have been stifled. Wishes denied, visions rejected, knowledge ignored..."_

_KROOM- SHING- KROOM!_ Suwako's cataclysmic blades erupted from all around, piercing the flesh of the unholy thing. Iron rings swirled around its form.

_whi~sh._ An ominous, dispelling holy gale blew through the cavern, eroding the flesh of Flandre, and the nightmarish clump.

"_Lose all control_— _for I'm in control_." Flandre's wings grew as she had hold of her abomination, supporting both it and her. "_Over these quiet centuries_— _I've pondered the meaning of my life."_

This is all really more than Sanae bargained for. '_I_— _have to help, somehow!'_

_Kla- kla- klack!_ She drew a pentagram in the air with her gohei. "_Hyah!"_ Then, swinging at it, she sent it out.

_Wham!_ The holy curse met the side of the abomination, but seemed to do nothing but make more blood and oil pour out.

_SPLU- SPLUCK- SPLASH!_ Green-purple tar shot from the ground, meeting Kanako. "_Ngh_—_ uuh_—" It began to erode her limbs and her body, and made her already inhuman flesh grey out, for some moments.

"_RHOOAAA_—" The creation of Flandre spoke on its own, roaring at everyone. Sanae felt her eyes shake inside her own skull.

'_Holy shit…'_ Sanae looked around, at how much trouble even her gods were having. '_Holy shi~t!'_

"_I can't seem, to find an answer." _Flandre lamented the meaning of her own life. "_Why am I here… repeating every day? Playing with toys_— _serving my sister's whims, only imagining what I could create with the world's toys. Why do I have to fear my power? My power, as a vampiric god?"_

"Who are you—" Sanae yelled, "to _try and kill us!?"_

_KABOOM- BABOOM!_ Suwako made sides of the thing explode, chunks of flesh and black gas mixing with the smoke.

"_BECAUSE THIS IS MY FANTASY."_ Flandre was so loud, she was the only thing Sanae could hear.

_FW- WHISH!_ Blades of air pierced the great abomination, boils popping and bleeding.

Kanako had reformed, after the oil melted her body into nearly nothing. "You know— nothing, of godhood!"

"Or _our love!"_ Suwako boomed, as she hung by the side of the huge head, hands on a greatsword she'd made that was bigger than she was. "Can't you— _leave us alone, already!?"_

"_All things must come to an end. Planets, stars… universes." _Flandre may or may not have been listening. "_Even gods. Perhaps my meaning, is to simply be destroyed, someday. Like soil. Yet..._

"_I miss you, sister._

"_I… I don't want to terrify you. You know why I break, why I kill. All these little things— seeking to repress the control I just happen to hold. All these things living in denial of the person I am, and the person I could be."_

If everyone was dead, no one could prize her power, seek to confine it; no one would make her fear other people, no one would make her fear knowledge, unique thought, or herself.

She wanted to make people dance, love, feel different worlds, experiences, and characters. She wanted to pull the strings of fate too. Her sister held such power, and she got to do it everyday.

Flandre was jealous. She felt denied. She had such big ideas; and they were being muted.

It used to not be so bad. The outside was boring, and it was more interesting to do as she did. To mix up her boring but beloved sister's day with foolery, to play with the boring people sent to their graves in the mansion's derelict crevice that was her room. To take their souls, blood, and power— to make them dance to her games. It was more interesting than the Scarlet throne.

Then, Gensokyo was made known to her. Reimu and Marisa changed everything. She wanted to eat them so bad— eat them whole, and use their power to eclipse this entire world.

This Gensokyo was a land where people dreamed. The world had people who dreamt other than her. Now, Remilia could dream too.

Everyone except _her._ And now, Remilia would still leash her down, harder than ever before. Everyone would see her dreams, her weird fantasies and desire to be herself— and for all the preaching about _peace_ and _love_ they spouted, they would censor her. They would step on her, seal her, yell at her and frown, and her knowledge and logic would be for naught.

On the outside, there were reasons to yield. There was no point in kicking the ants that were regular humans; at least, no more often than one would kick ant hills.

Inside Gensokyo? Flandre saw it. The hateful world outside could come to an end, reduced to scarlet mist. The remains would dance to her whim, and they'd all have fun. Cute comedies, romantic plots, risky dramas and an eternity of friendship.

Things rose from the dirt around Sanae. '_Oh_— _crap…'_

They were humans, some of old European descent, some looking like Japanese citizens from the outside, and some oddly American.

Like Sanae remembered of the school kids she's had to suffer through before, they came at her with bats, blunt and broken blades, and fists raised.

'_Well_— _I don't so much remember the blade part, but you know…'_

Sanae also remembered how the one friend she made taught her how to deal with them.

_WHACRACK!_ When a schoolgirl neared, Sanae clubbed her with her gohei. The corpse's head came off. '_I hate thi~s!'_

_whi~sh._ A dispelling wind came from Kanako, and many of the corpses around Sanae began to collapse, as if degrading further into nothing; into soil.

"_And yet, I am immortal. Freedom is my captivity. I shall not die."_ Opening her eyes, Flandre smiled. Her own body had begun distorting out of proportion, eyes a spiralling, piercing red. "_When I am god_— _my sister will know peace. My friends will know peace. You little people can't understand. The cycle of boring trite will end."_

Sanae floated over the remaining corpses, and hollered over like the delinquents she was reminded of. "Sh~ut _up_— al_ready~!"_

Passing by Kanako, and even further into the fray than Suwako, Sanae came close to the ultimate biohazard.

Flandre became alight with scarlet energy, limbs crackling with adrenaline-fueled mania.

"_Demon in green, who can't think what I think. Why are you the only one who is allowed to dream?"_

"_HROOAH"_ Its maw opened, and a pulsing orb of black and white was visible inside.

_VRRRRR~!_ Sanae drifted up. The giant maw had shot something she'd seen before; the black had become Marisa's Master Spark.

_POP- KLACK!_ Yin-yang orbs coated in mucus and oil popped from boils along the right flank of the thing, which Sanae weaved around.

"Sanae— what are you doing!?" Kanako's voice bloomed over the whipping wind.

"_I delight at your power."_ Flandre licked her now wide, impossible lips. "_Such incredible power."_

Sanae drifted up into her face.

There were pinpricks of white in Flandre's twisted expression, for just one moment. "_HYEE"_ Her crystal wings snapped towards Sanae like a jaw.

_woosh!_ Sanae flipped up, over the wings. "_Hra~h!"_ She readied to cleave her gohei down.

Suwako was with her, hands on the gohei too. "_Yeah! Let's fuck 'em up-"_

_BOOM._ The gohei came down on Flandre's head, a supernova of holy energy and rock exploding out.

"_Annh_—" Flandre moaned from the blow, and her creation dipped down, more flesh and blood scraped off by Kanako's cyclones.

"Haha~!" Sanae beamed at the damage, despite the dark and the gore. "We _yeeted her!"_

"I— can't believe I'm sayin' this— but this ain't the time fer _memes, Sanae!"_ Suwako yelled over the gloopy sounds below.

"It _sure is!"_ Sanae roared back. "Listen to her! Listen to all of this! It's all _wrong!_ I don't _care_— how _terrible_ her life has been! At this point, I don't know if we can even—… we can't do anything about it!"

Flandre was in terrible shape, Sanae knew. This was the deepest darkness Sanae could really think of; and she knew it was, because it was even past the point of recognition. Sanae couldn't relate to it in the slightest.

And, that was particularly crushing. Sanae had wanted a mutual victim, in the craziness of modern societies, someone she could attach to on a very personal level. It may have been selfish, but… it was her expectation.

Darkness wasn't magic. It wasn't paranormal. It was the forgotten ruin that came from the depths of the human mind. Unsaid grief, unacknowledged collapse of conveniences and society. The destruction of families to the dark that was disconnection. Thoughts, opinions, knowledge

all cast to the void in the face of someone getting a dire high off one's failure.

'_Flandre thinks she'll be richer— breaking my dreams, destroying my mind and stifling my future. She thinks she'll be able to dream.'_

'_But that's not how it works. She's missing the point! If she feels that way, it's because other people are doing to her, what she's trying to do to me. And the world will never get better for us all, unless we all do our part to be at least decent.'_

"Flandre!" Sanae yelled again. "You are a— _really big idiot!"_

...Flandre peered up, mouth agape.

"I haven't lived through— hundreds of years of pain…" Sanae admitted. "But what I do know is— your sister, wouldn't want you to be in pain! Your sister wants the best for you! And—…"

She huffed. "Do— does she even _know?_ Re— Remilia. Remilia… would hate to see you so sad, like this. She'd wanna hear what you have to say. Your _dream,_ or whatever."

...Flandre paused. Among the cyclone of the sharpest obsidian rings, and Kanako's power, Flandre gazed up at Sanae as she spoke, listening.

"I _can't_ relate to ya." Sanae confessed. "I can't even begin. But stop acting like—… you _aren't god, _so stop pretending you _are._ You're a sad little— vampire— with too much power."

"Power _is_ dynamic, like you said." Sanae admitted. "...But you— you are not powerful, like you think. You are _weak._ Weak of _heart."_

...Flandre closed her eyes. "_Perhaps Man, Youkai and Spirit do have futures on this planet. We shall see if they are above God herself."_

_WOOSH._ Suddenly, the huge head snapped up, to devour Sanae in one gulp, with unpredictable velocity.

_BOOM._ Suwako was there, keeping the maw from shutting with a megalithic blade. "_Sanae_—"

_BOOM- BAM- BOOM!_ Bombs exploded as wind novas, stripping oceans of flesh and gore from the ungodly creation. "_Protect her, damn it!"_ Kanako barked.

_Fwi- fwi- fwish!_ Sanae poured ofuda into its mouth. "_Take that!"_

Then, it burped. _"HUU_—"But, it was nothing gastral.

Everything shook; the air, the rocks, and the manor above.

_klick- klick- klick._ The space itself around the maw distorted. The light was being sucked in; and so was space itself. A small portal of black and white formed in the maw; similar to a black hole.

"_Suwako_— _get outta there!"_ Kanako roared.

Suwako flew away; but as half a torso, alarmed, without arms and legs. "_Oo_— _ooh_—"

_FWOAM._ The black hole-like orb rolled from Flandre's creation's body.

It sucked in rock, blade, corpse, oil and soil alike.

Sanae and Kanako flew back, Suwako floating closer. "Tsh— ih bahd—" Suwako slurred her words.

"You— your faith…" Kanako looked devastated. "Suwako…"

Sanae's heart raced.

'_I came this far…'_ She gritted her teeth, and felt the tears well up. '_I put in all this effort…'_ She was reminded of what Flandre said, forming an idea of the contrast of 'wasted effort'.

'_But_— _we've come so far_— _it can't all be wasted. By something so stupid…'_

Sanae saw the black orb grow larger and nearer. '_She's not god. She has a limit…'_

On that theory, Sanae turned to Kanako. "Lady—"

Kanako was hugging Suwako's torn apart body, eyes shut. Neither cried, but they probably felt something similar.

"_Snap outta it!"_ Sanae barked at them. "_Kanako!_ On my mark, make a huge explosion behind us!"

"...Wh— what?" Kanako nearly snarled at her. "Suwako— needs my _faith, damn it_—"

"_Just do it!"_ Sanae yelled back, and grabbed onto them-

_KABOOM!_ There was an explosion of wind behind them, and that was all Sanae needed.

Using the great, painful push, her limbs getting all cut up, Sanae guided the three into the air up, over and past the huge black orb.

Even as they were pulled down towards it, they managed to pass it, by virtue of floating away now that it was moving away from them. '_Hell yeah!'_

_KRR- KROOM!_ The orb met the rocks behind where they were a minute later. It exploded into a flash of darkness, ate its fill of rock, then imploded into nothing.

All together in the air above the monstrosity, Sanae put her thinker to work again.

'_Our back's up against a wall. Lady Suwako's hurt, we're probably using up an egregious amount of our already makeshift faith pool to fight this thing, and it's_—'

The flesh below was regrowing. Flandre's vampiric blood coursed through the travesty, and its form began to slowly piece back together.

'_It's regrowing...'_ Sanae felt her heart sink.

"...Damn it." Kanako shut her eyes. "That— damn _gap hag…_ she knew this would happen, I'm sure."

"It's no use blaming others." Sanae shook her head. "...Lady Kanako. I want you and Suwako… I want you both to put your remaining power in me."

Sanae was remembering something from an anime. They had no other options left. '_I'm going to end this. I just need the strength to put forward my ideas.'_

...Kanako's face soured. "But— Sanae—… I— would rather let myself fade out first, than let you suffer any more. Especially in a moment like this, where us gods were cast to nothingness to start with. The fact— that we've been there to support you at all…"

Kanako began to cry. "I love you, Sanae. I love you..."

Sanae hugged her back, crying too. "Please—… trust me. Just this once."

...Kanako let a breath go. "I— don't want you to walk the afterlife alone. I don't—"

"We're— not gonna die here."Sanae had faith. "Put your faith in _me!"_

...With no other words, Kanako pushed the fragmented Suwako into her form, and joined her soon after.

Sanae's form glowed with light. She could feel it all; the wind, the rocks around them, and the amalgamation of both elements that the mass of flesh gained below from taking a bite out of Suwako.

'_So, Flandre… you wanna play villain, huh.'_ Sanae's body shook with power. '_That's fine. That just means I can play… hero.'_

"Flandre."

'_And… even now…'_ Sanae could feel how low the faith of Suwako and Kanako was altogether. She only had a few minutes of safe time, like this, she was sure.

'_I have to stop her. Because I am…'_

Windy teal and bright amber coalesced in her body. Sanae opened her gold eyes. '_A symbol of peace and justice!'_

'_So…'_ She looked down at the growing mass of ungodly flesh. '_How'd that one guy fight that slime? Oh, yeah.'_

_WOOSH._ Sanae abandoned her gohei, and snapped down for the mass.

_KERSQUELCH!_ She punched it in one of its many eyes, the impact rippling through the flesh, wind and earth tearing layers off of where she punched.

"_Ufufufu."_ Flandre knew she had won. "_Were you not paying attention? I am growing stronger. All of you is absorbed into me."_

"Yeah, whadda 'bout it?" Sanae grinned.

She floated back from the boiling bile and rot.

Rock, wind and holy power began to ball up along Sanae's hand. She remembered her life, her few relationships, and all she had fun with…

Then, she welled up the voice of the gods. "_**TEXAS…**_" Her voice reverberated through the flesh, the rocks, and the mansion.

Her eyes were pinpricks of gold. There were gods inside her fists, tonight.

"_**SMAAAASH!**__"_

Flandre would have to feel the weight of Sanae's dreams.

_BOOM._ Her fist met the front of the terror, above the mouth, where a nose would be.

The resulting noise was nothing of this world. It was an indescribable blast, rocks turning to soil around it in the wake.

The sheer air pressure and force pressed the entire head into the ground—

Then, a rain of gore. The wind pressure pulled the entire gore mass back up against the downward force. All of the loose flesh and bloody guts were shredded at once, exploding into the air.

The clap-like motion of the wind and force had made it all squish like a disc, leaving Sanae safe from any potential blowback for the first few moments.

Sanae was using all she knew. She knew not any useful shrine maiden magic, nor any godly arts that her gods could call on; nor did she have that power.

But, with the raw power she did have, she put more than all her power into each hit she could deal.

Flandre floated above nothing, her body now contorted back to normal. "Wh—… what…"

_BOOM._ Coming from the ground, Sanae snapped up to her as fast as she could.

Flandre saw her coming, and beamed at her power. She threw her fist forward, to plunge it right where Sanae's heart would be—

Their knuckles connected. It was the world's biggest fistbump.

Flandre's arm jiggled limply everywhere but the fist that met Sanae's. Then, the bones snapped back into place in an instant.

The trade of punches began.

It was a staggering roar, Sanae's arms filled with the breath of the earth, and the dance of the wind, moving faster than her own senses.

Flandre punched back at equal speed. She wouldn't admit it, but her limitations were similar.

But, every punch Sanae threw was aimed. They all had a purpose: to deflect Flandre's, pierce her impossible regeneration, and to be spread across entire body. Every blow was a hundred ten percent of Sanae's power.

_BAM- WHAP- BAM- WHAP- BAM- BAM!_ Flandre's speed was nothing like a god's in this instance, as she took punch after punch.

_CRUNCH._ She finally landed a blow, breaking Sanae's ribs and striking her heart. Blood exploded out Sanae's back; the color of golden ichor mixed with red and teal, the light spreading throughout the cavern.

"_Ghk_—" Despite her pain, Sanae stopped for only a moment, her hurricane of iron fists billowing across Flandre's body the next.

Flandre would have looked like she was boiling, if someone walked in just now, and couldn't see the lightning-fast fist exchange.

_WHABOOM!_ Sanae's fist met Flandre's face for the first time.

_KRABOOM!_ Flandre rebounded off of the rocks ahead. "_En_— _he_—"

"_So_— _you wanna be a god, huh!? If you can withstand me_— _at all of my power…!"_ Sanae's body billowed with light, force and painful energy; painful to herself. "_Then I'll hafta go beyond that_— _and make you wanna surrende~r!"_

From the wall, Flandre leered, holding up a fist. "_Kyu-"_

_whish._ Before she could clench it, Sanae was there, her two steel arms managing hold on Flander's raised arm. "_A real hero…"_

_WOO- WOOSH, WOOSH!_ She threw Flandre around herself, spinning around in the air, whipping her about like a ragdoll. Her wings cracked and became limp as Sanae swung her around…

"_A real hero_— _will always find a way for justice to be served!"_

_WHOOM._ She spun around, whipping Flandre straight down—

_KRAK- KRAKRAKRABOOM!_ All the broken rocks below broke again, the entire foundation of the mansion shaken to the core.

"_Kh_— _ha~h…"_ Flandre gasped out blood. All her bones were broken; and this was the three hundredth time they were all broken tonight. In this moment, her regeneration stalled, just a little. She was tired.

_KABOOM._ Sanae landed next to Flandre, whose body was still mid-rebound off the rocky floor.

"_Now, for a lesson."_ Sanae's gold eyes were alive with holy tears. "**You may have heard these words before.**" Her voice changed, Kanako and Suwako's voices chipping in randomly. "**But **_I'll teach _**you **_what they __**really mean!"**_

"_**GO BEYOND"**_ Her voice was that of a god. Her fist lit up with the colors of the rainbow; she called not on only the power of her gods — but her own, godly power.

Her fist met Flandre's back, at an upward angle.

Rainbow light exploded out. It was solid, impossibly so, and it bloomed throughout the entire cavern.

Flandre was bathed in the power of miracles, an indescribable feeling washing over her body.

"_**PLUS ULTRA**__"_

Flandre flew up.

**PLUS ULTRA**

Remilia stared down at the floor, as the rumbling continued.

"...Should I go check?" Sakuya was very worried now, too. "Normally, Flandre doesn't—"

_**KRAKABOOM- CRISH- BLABOOM!**_ The throne room floor exploded, a pillar of rainbow energy shooting out.

Flandre's mouth was agape, her body a limp tatter as she ascended, her eyes meeting Remilia's gaze for just a moment, before roaring through the new hole in the roof.

Sakuya dropped her tray of tea.

**PLUS ULTRA**

Outside, Meiling turned towards the mansion. A single needle of rainbow poked from the clock tower, stretching to the top of the Hakurei Barrier.

"Wh— what…?" Her mouth went agape. "Fl— Flandre?"

The night sky danced with stars, as Flandre spiralled up. Clouds exploded, Flandre's form parting them with the sheer force with which she ascended.

**PLUS ULTRA**

The bookshelves shook, and threatened to tip. Books crashed down from their confines, too.

"That— _damned_—" Patchouli Knowledge grimaced. "She needs a new _restraint,_ it sounds like."

"I'll say…!" Koakuma used a huge tome to defend herself from other crashing tomes. "Holy—"

_BOOM._ A shock reverberated through the entire mansion. Patchouli felt herself jitter, then freeze.

Koakuma felt the way Patchouli froze. "Mi— mistress—"

"Flandre—" Patchouli breathed out, looking in the direction of the shock. "Flandre _lost._"

...Koakuma's jaw dropped. Her eyes swelled with excited emotion. "Wh—… _she what."_

**PLUS ULTRA**

Reimu sipped tea, while at the front porch of the Hakurei Shrine.

"Hey, Reimu-ze…" Marisa creeped up to her, holding their newly acquired sake bottle like it were a mortar cannon. "I'm gonna _clobber ya, ze."_

...Reimu was slightly adored at her mannerism, but wouldn't show it. "Yeah, yeah. As in— no, we're not drinking tonight. I wanna watch the sky."

_Boom._ In the distance, a vibration came around, and it shook their tea. Instinctively, both girls looked in the direction of the awkward thump, their eyes zoning out as they searched the woods.

Then, they saw it. A needle of rainbow, emerging from the Scarlet Devil Mansion.

...Marisa's jaw dropped. "Patchy stole my _Master Spark._ Oh, sweet lord, no…"

Reimu snorted. "Hurts to be you, I guess." She went back to sipping her tea…

**PLUS ULTRA**

...Flandre's body felt all together, again.

She owlishly watched the swirling world around herself.

The island of Japan was way below, and the moon wasn't so far, now. There was a kind of loneliness, up here; a kind of peace Flandre never felt before. It was completely different from the basement's darkness.

This was the reaches of space. The true celestial playing ground.

Flandre looked at hands, then the island below, and the entire Earth.

"...It's…" Flandre smiled at it. "It's beautiful."

She felt at peace, somehow. She wasn't entirely sure why.

...But, after thinking on it, she felt it. The voices were gone. The mental noise, it was also gone.

"First question… am I _dead._" She wondered flatly. She grabbed her own arm—

_Crack._ The bone broke when she gripped. "Ow." She probably wasn't dead, then.

"Oh, you're far from dead."

Flandre turned to a blue-haired woman, dressed in white and black, who wore a red cap.

"Hey." Flandre greeted her politely. "...So uh. Space is kinda cool."

The woman snorted. "Doremy Sweet. And, you must be Flandre Scarlet, yes?"

Flandre nodded. "Uh huh. Are you the person who comes to you when you die?"

"...I could see how one might confuse sleep with death." Doremy supposed, "but no. I oversee dreams in Gensokyo."

Flandre blinked. "...The— then, you know about—"

"Every night, when you go to sleep…" Doremy nodded. "You lose the memories of a few days ago, if not that day, and relive your whole life again. Up until _that_ point."

...Flandre stared off, into space. In this case, literally. "Can— you…"

...Doremy smiled. "No. I couldn't fix something like that."

Flandre closed her eyes. "Of course."

"Because…" Doremy closed her own eyes, too. "It's already fixed."

Flandre's eyes snapped open. "Wait—… what? Really? How?"

"That rainbow energy, you were struck with." Doremy met her eyes. "Sanae Kochiya is a demi-goddess of miracles. Those miracles can happen to be pretty spectacular, if you push her hard enough."

...Agape, Flandre stared down at the Earth.

In the end, Remilia's gambit had failed. Flandre had, against all odds, befriended the quirky shrine maiden who came to be killed by her, and ultimately…

Flandre felt at herself. She shut her eyes, as if to sleep, to see if she was dreaming, then opened them a minute or two later, still here in space with the strange thing lady who called herself sweet.

She wanted to cry.

"Sa—… Sanae…"

No. That wasn't just anyone.

"Goddess in green, who saw the depths that I sank...

"I guess I was strange. I guess I _am_ deranged. Without you, I'd never have had such… such a fun time. Meeting someone just as desperate to avoid nothingness as I am…"

Flandre had a good time, today. Sanae taught her a whole bunch; especially about the outside.

"But, at least… I dared to _dream._

"Thank you."

Flandre learned what true strength meant. It wasn't flashy ways of killing people; it wasn't creating your own life forms, twisting space and time itself, or spreading your horrible pain onto others.

It was going beyond. It was Plus Ultra, whatever that meant.


End file.
